Adjustable blackboard-liner



No. 623,805. Patented Apr. 25, I899. W. L. MURPHY.

ADJUSTABLE BLAUKBUARD LINER. (Application filed zov. 21, 1898.) (No Model.) Sheet-Shaet I.

waeases: lite/6270602:

Patented Ap'r. 25, 1899';

' w, Liywnmv. ADJUSTABLE BLABKBUABD LINER.v

(Application flld. Nov. 21, 1898.

2 Shank-Sheet 2.

( o Model.)

0.. WASH UNITED STATES PATENT @rtrcn.

\VILLIAM LAVRENCE MURPHY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

ADJUSTABLE .BLACKBOARD-LINER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 623,805, dated April 25, 1899.

Application filed November 21, 1898. Serial No. 696,969 (No model.)

To ctZZ whont it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM LAWRENCE MURPHY, of South Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and'useful Improvements in Adjustable Blackboard-Liners, -of which the following is a description sufficiently full, clear, and exact to enable those skilled in the art to which it appertains or with which it is most nearly connected to make and use the same.

Myinvention comprises an improved staffmarker and is intended to provide a simple and eflicient means for holding crayons or the like for drawing a series of parallel or concentric lines, provision being made for adjusting the extent of space or distance between the lines.

It is particularly adapted for quickly marking musical staves upon a blackboard, as well as for ruling the different sets of columns used in bookkeeping. It is also adapted for general use in geometrical drawing.

In the the accompanying drawings I have shown forms in which I may embody my invention.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my device, a portion of the stock or head being broken away to show the shoulders orstops. Fig. 2 is a similar View taken at right angles to the plane of Fig. 1, a portion being represented as in section. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a modified form of the invention. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the guiding and rest roller and its immediate equipments.

The marker, as shown, comprises a suitable base or stock a, having projecting from one side thereof a handle I) and having also a series ofarms d projecting from the opposite side. ,These arms dare made of thin flexible resilientmaterial, as'sheet metal, so that they bendeasily under pressure for a purpose to be hereinafter explained.

Near their outer ends the arms are formed with resilient fin gers f, arranged to form a resilient clamp for holding crayons or the like.

Said fingersfm ay be flared at their inner and outer ends to facilitate the ready insertion of the crayons.

The arms (Z are pivoted upon bolts or studs 6, so that they may be swung to and fro in the same plane in order to'secure any desired adjustment with relation to one another.

staff;

I have shown the stock or base recessed, as at c, to form shoulders cl, which serve as stops to limit the pivotal movement of said arms, although any suitable form of stop may be used for this purpose. These stops may of course be formed at any predetermined distance from the perpendicular line passing through the pivotal center, so that the dis tance between two adjacent arms may be accurately determined when the arms are resting against the stops.

By having both ends of the fingers flared the crayon shown in dotted lines atg may be inserted from either end. The spring of the jaws or fingers f should be sufficiently strong to retain the crayon without slipping and yet resilient enough to permit the ready removal or insertion of the crayon.

I have shown a metallic band Z passing around the edge of the stock,which serves to cover up the recesses. The tightening of the,

screws 6, moreover, serves to cause this band to bind upon the ends of the arms d, so that said arms may not be displaced from their proper position when in use.

My object in making the arms flexible and resilient is to compensate for any unevenness in the relative position of the crayons due to unequal wear or inexact alinement. Thus if one of the crayons should project beyond the line of the others it would not cause any inconvenience, since the arm would readily bend back until this difference in length was compensated for without in any way interfering with the parallelism of the line made by it in reference to the line made by the other crayons.

vAs shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the arms are in proper position to mark out a musical If it is desired to rule a set of columns for bookkeeping, the arms can be adjusted provided with a rest and guiding-roller r,

which may be covered with rubber s or be otherwise suitably constructed, which roller is connected with the stock or head a through the medium of the shank t, projecting from the ears or clips 11, which form bearings for the journal-pins '2' of the roller. \Vhen the device is equipped with the roller, as shown, straight parallel lines may be drawn upon a board or other thing without the aid of a ruler.

\Vhile all of the arms (Z may be made adjustable, in some cases the central arm may be made rigid and the others made adjustable with respect to the central one, so that the space between the lines drawn may be rendered wider or narrower, as may be desired.

The screws 6 may be turned down so tightly as to hold the arms (Z in any position to which they may be adjusted, the shoulders (1 only limiting the extent of adjustment.

It is to be noted that the arms (Z are inherently resilientthatis, they are inherent spriugarms and not arms controlled by springs. In the latter case they would be more cumbersome, less sensitive, and more uncertain of action than in the former.

The device may be used with or without the roller 1, and the proportions of the parts and their relationship as respects distance may be varied to suit circumstances.

The shank i of the roller-support is preferably made as or to possess the properties of a spring, so as to readily yield to pressure. This is a matter of importance, since it adds in a desirable manner to the flexibility between the crayons and the parts by which they are manipulated, a matter of much importance to the user of the device.

Having thus explained the nature of the invention and described a way of constructing and using the same, though without attempting to set forth all of the forms in which it may be made or all of the modes of its use, itis declared that what is claimed is 1. A staff-marker comprising a suitable stock or base, a series of flat elongated flexible arms secured to said stock, said arms being provided near their outer ends with resilient clips or fingers bent up and offset from said arms for retaining crayons, substantially as described.

2. A staff-marker comprising a suitable stock, a series of elongated resilient arms pivoted on said stock to swing toward or away from each other while held normally against easy displacement from their adjusted positions, said arms being provided with means for detachably holding crayons substantially as described.

3. A staff-marker comprising a suitable base, a series of resilient arms pivoted to said base, said arms having clamping-fingers for holding crayons, and a series of stops to limit the pivotal movement of said arms, substantially as described.

4:. A staff-marker comprising a base member or head to permit the arms to be brought nearer or farther from each other, as desired, a series of resilient arms pivotallysccured to said base, said arms being provided near their outer ends with resilient fingers, said fingers having their ends flared to receive crayons, substantially as described.

5. A staff-marker or ruling device comprising a stock or head, and a plurality of inherently-resilient crayon-holding arms extending therefrom, and pivoted thereto at their upper ends by means of binding-screws.

(1'. A staff-marker or ruling device comprising a stock or head, and a plurality of inherently-resilient crayon-holding arms extending therefrom, certain of said arms being adjustable to vary the space therebetween.

7. A staff-marker comprising a suitable stock or base, a series of elongated flexible arms secured to said stock, said arms being provided near their outer ends with resilient clips or fingers suitable for retaining crayons, combined with a yieldingly-m oun ted rest an d guiding-roller r, as explained.

8. The combination,with the crayon-holder having a plurality of resilient crayon-hold ing fingers, of a roller, its journal-pins, and a resilient frame for connecting the roller with the stock or handle of the device, said frame being provided with bearings for the journal-pins of the roller, substantially as described.

9. A ruling device or marker comprisinga base or stock, a series of resilient crayon-holding arms secured to said base, a pair of resilient arms secured to said base and provided at their outer ends with bearings, a bearingroller mounted to rotate in said bearings and serving to guide and steady the movement of the marker when in use, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 26th day of October, A. D. 1898.

V. LAVRENCE MURPHY.

Witnesses:

ANNIE J. DAILEY, ARTHUR XV. CROSSLEY. 

